were hard to dig. The rascals look just like clods of dirt and I had a hard time spotting them! Where are those eagle-eyed kids when you need them? I also tried some orange bell-type pep-pers, "Blaze Orange". These had a sweeter flavor that my husband espe-cially liked. And, last, I planted an or-ange cherry tomato, “Sunsweet”. They were indeed sweet and delicious, not quite as acidic as some cherry to-matoes. Everyone that tasted them wanted to know the variety so that they could plant some themselves next year! Oh, and yes, my flowers were really pretty too. I am looking forward to next year al-ready. Not just for the gardening, but for our group as well. I have made contact with the Dane County Horticul-tural Agent and we will be able to take some advanced training from her that will help us make the Horticulture Hot Line a reality for our County next year. In addition, the educators and classes are all lined up for the 2014 Level 1 training. I am looking forward to intro-ducing another group of people to the Dodge County Master Gardener Asso-ciation and all of the wonderful mem-bers. Happy Gardening. Carol

Digging in Dodge

It is hard to believe that fall has arrived already! It seems like summer just arrived last week. What a fruitful year we have had! We installed the Educational Admini-stration Building Garden in May. (The new sign is now up.) The descriptions and care of all of the plants is now up on the website to guide people who might want to duplicate the effort. Take a look at it…spectacular! We also participated in the Beaver Dam Home Show, the Dodge County Fair, the photo contest, our annual plant sale, and several community gardens. We made numerous site visits, made educational presentations to a variety of groups, planted containers for community beautifi-cation projects, assisted in landscape de-signs, and worked with schools, 4-H groups, churches, libraries, and residential facilities. And, I know there are things that you have done that I don’t know about. We may be a small group, but we are defi-nitely an active group. I promised to report on some things I was experimenting with this summer in this newsletter. First, my friends who were going to plant buckwheat as a trap crop for Japanese beetles decided to go with a different method of control. So, I have nothing to report. I did try some new vegetables, including blue potatoes and fingerling potatoes. They were both prolific producers with ex-cellent flavor. The blue ones retain the color when cooked which may be a bit of a turn-off to some people. The one problem I had with the blue potatoes was that they

A Note from our President

October 2013

Issue 35

Upcoming Meetings 2

Events of Interest 3

Mystery Master Gardener 4

2014 Level 1 Training 4

Save the Date 5

Apple Cake Recipe 5

4th Annual Photo Contest Winners

6

Leaf Mold .. .. A Gar-dener’s Gold

7

Safe Raking Tips 7

Inside this issue:

Dodge County Master Gardener Association

Master Gardeners will be working on various projects in Dodge County this year. Projects are under-way in Beaver Dam, Horicon, Juneau, Mayville, Neosho, Watertown, and Waupun. Each project has a Master Gardener who coordinates the work. A complete and updated list of projects with contact person information is available from our website or from Carol Shirk (920) 387-5105.

2013 Projects

No Meetings in November or December.

January 23, 2014—Year in Review. A review of the projects that the Dodge County Master Gar-

dener Association Volunteers participated in during 2013, complete with photos and discussion.

Upcoming Meetings

Anyone with an interest in gardening is welcome to attend the following free programs. Master Gar-dener meetings are held on the fourth Thursday of the month. Unless otherwise noted, the meetings are at 6:30 p.m. in the Administration Building, 127 E. Oak Street, Juneau.

Page 2 Digging in Dodge Issue 35

Master Gardener Websites

Looking Ahead—Growing wildflowers, building a mini greenhouse, shade gardening, touring an ap-

ple orchard—these are just a few of the topics that will be covered during the 2014 Dodge County

Master Gardener meetings. Watch for details about these meetings in the months to come.

http://www.wimastergardener.org/

http://www.wimastergardener.org/?q=Dodge

http://dodge.uwex.edu/master-gardener/

Gold among the brown,

Leaves of rust and scarlet,

Trembling slowly down.

Birds that travel southward,

Lovely time to play,

Nothing is as pleasant,

As a lovely autumn day!

---Carmen Lagos Signes

Events of Interest

Page 3 Digging in Dodge Issue 35

October 30, 2013 Gardening for Hummingbirds ~ Olbrich Botanical Gardens, Madison 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Learn how to create a sanctuary for hummingbirds in your own backyard in this class. Through the use of perennials and annual plants, wildflowers, shrubs, trees and hummingbird feeders, you too can discover the magic and excitement of hummingbirds. $15 ($12 members). For more information contact Olbrich Botani-cal Gardens, 3330 Atwood Ave., Madison, WI 53704; phone (608) 246-4550.

November 12, 2013 Cranberries - Out of the Bog and Into Your Backyard ~ Green Bay Botanical Gardens, Green Bay 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. This class will cover commercial cranberry production from planting to harvest, with a look at the art and science of cranberry production in Wisconsin and Massachusetts. Learn to grow cranberries in your own garden - no water required.. $14 ($7 members). For more information or to register contact Green Bay Bo-tanical Garden, 2600 Larsen Road, Green Bay, WI 54303 at (920) 490-9457.

October 19, 2013 Seed Collection Workshop ~ Gottfried Prairie and Arboretum, UW Fond du Lac 9 a.m. to noon In this class taught by Connie Ramthun, participants will learn how to identify wildflowers and grasses in the seed stage, then collect and clean the seeds. For more information, visit www.gottfriedprairiearboreum.org.

November 2, 2013 Landscaping With Native Plants ~ Cardinal Stritch University, Milwaukee 8:00 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Wild Ones presents their 8th annual seminar, "Landscaping With Native Plants." Join them for a day of im-mersion in native plant landscaping, with talks, venders and many like-minded gardeners and professional designers and growers! Online registration available at http://landscapingwithnativeplants2013.eventbrite.com. Request a brochure or direct questions to: 414-299-9888, ext 3 or email wildonesseminar@gmail.com

November 2, 2013 Fall Garden Symposium 'New Old Plants for the Midwestern Garden' ~ Rotary Botanical Gardens, Janesville 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Six plant experts will give garden enthusiasts the real dirt on some New & Improved cultivars of old garden favorites & offer an exciting behind-the-scenes look at woody & perennial plant breeding programs for our area. RBG Friends Members $55, General Public $65 Rotary Botanical Gardens, 1455 Palmer Drive, Janes-ville, Call 608-752-3885

Enjoy Wisconsin’s botanical gardens this holiday season. November 24—December 28, 2013 ~ 15th Annual Garden of Lights, Green Bay Botanical Gardens, A holiday favorite featuring over 200,000 lights crafted in flowers, butterflies, and other botanical themes. November 20—December 28, 2013 ~ Olbrich’s Holiday Express—Flower and Model Train Show, Olbrich Botanical Gardens, Madison Twinkling lights, festive poinsettia’s tiny landscapes, large-scale model trains: all aboard for Olbrich’s Holi-day Express! December 12—29, 2013 ~ Holiday Light Show, Rotary Botanical Gardens, Janesville WI Experience over 200,000 seasonal lights and numerous displays.

Page 4 Digging in Dodge Issue 35

Mystery Master Gardener This is a new feature on getting to know your fellow Master Gardeners. There will be a “mystery” Master Gar-

dener featured in each newsletter. Do you know who this individual is? See the next page to find out if you

are right.

I’ve been interested in gardening for as long as I can remember. Our family had a vegetable garden as I was growing up and I remember picking beans, strawberries and cucumbers (and helping with the canning, freezing and pickling). It was my aunt who introduced me to flowers and gladly shared cuttings and divisions with me. I had heard about the Master Gardener program and after I retired from the Beaver Dam School District, I and good friend, Charlotte Snow, decided to take the Level 1 course offered through Dane County. I was really excited to join the Dodge County group when it formed.

I enjoy volunteering at the BDAAA Seippel Garden in Beaver Dam. Julie Fortune, Judy and Ben Hagman and I spend three hours most Wednesday mornings May-September keeping the gardens an inviting place to enjoy. I also have an interest in native plantings and volunteer Tuesday morn-ings at Riveredge Nature Center in Newburg, as a Habitat Healer, controlling invasive species and collecting and planting native seeds.

When I’m not gardening I enjoy feeding and watching birds. As a member of the Horicon Marsh Bird Club I help with the Christmas Bird Count and the spring Sandhill Crane Count.

I enjoy the many physical, mental and emotional benefits of gardening, but especially the friendship of those who love to see living things grow and wonder about it.

Learn about horticulture and share your knowledge through community volunteering.

If you are a veteran gardener or a novice, and would like to learn more about gardening and landscaping, consider participating in the next Master Gardener Volunteer Level 1 Training Program. Dodge County UW-Extension will offer a 13-week Level 1 Master Gardener Volunteer Training from 6:00 - 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday evenings beginning March 4, 2014 and concluding in late May. Training will be held at the Dodge County Administration Building, 127 East Oak Street in Juneau. This program is only offered every other year. The program cost is $140 and includes training and a comprehensive set of UW-Extension horticulture publi-cations. The training is open to the general public and participants must be at least 18 years of age. Registra-tion will be on a first come, first served basis and class size is limited to 40 participants. Registration deadline for the class is Monday, February 17, 2014 or until the class is full. Register by calling the Dodge County UW-Extension Office at 920-386-3790. For more information about the Dodge County Master Gardener Volunteer Level 1 Training Program or to register, contact the Dodge County UW-Extension office at 920-386-3790, visit the Dodge County UW-Extension/Master Gardener Association website at http://dodge.uwex.edu/ or connect with us on Facebook.

2014 Master Gardener Volunteer Training

Save the Dates

Page 5 Digging in Dodge Issue 35

January 25, 2014 18th Annual Conference on Native Plants

and Natural Landscapes Wild Ones Fox Valley Area Chapter

Oshkosh Convention Center Oshkosh WI

Master Gardener Booth at Dodge County Fair Stuart and Judi Miller of Beaver Dam

Kay Volker

Thank you Kay for being our first Mystery Master Gardener.

Did you learn something new about this Master Gardener? We are a very diverse group with wonderful members. Intro-duce yourself the next time you see Kay and meet one of the many smiling faces that makes our association so great.

Dodge County Fair

The Mystery Master Gardener is…...

February 7—9, 2014 WPT’s Garden Expo Alliant Energy Center

Madison WI

March 28—29, 2014 2014 WIMGA Annual Conference

Appleton WI Hosted by the Outagamie Co. MGA at the

Radisson Paper Valley Hotel

The Dodge County Master Gardener Association had a booth at the Dodge County Fair for the first time this year. The topic of the booth was "Square Foot Gardening”. Many people were interested in this type of gardening and either have gardened or are interested in gardening with this inten-sive method. In addition, information about various gardening concerns were available in the form of horticulture cards and other handouts. Volunteers were available to answer questions from the attendees

Apple Cake

Ingredients:

5 apples –peeled, cored & diced 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon 4 teaspoons baking powder 4 eggs

1 cup white sugar 1 cup vegetable oil 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional) 4 teaspoons white sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions 1. Preheat oven to 350°F, lightly grease and flour 9 x 13 inch

pan 2. Sift together flour, salt, cinnamon and baking powder. Set

aside 3. In large bowl, beat eggs and sugar for 15 minutes on high

speed with an electric mixer. Add oil and blend in. 4. Add flour mixture and mix well. Add vanilla. Fold in apples

and nuts. Pour batter into 9 x 13 inch pan. 5. In a small bowl, mix 4 teaspoons sugar with 1 teaspoon

cinnamon. Sprinkle over cake 6. Bake at 350°F for 50 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick in-

serted into center of the cake comes out clean

October is National Apple Month

Recipe submitted by Carol Shirk

Page 6 Digging in Dodge Issue 35

(Left to right back row): Wayne Brabender, Dave Edwards, Terri Main, Carol Shirk and Eileen Herrling.

(Left to right front row):Gae Bergmann, Stacey Lucht, and Vikki Fischer-Kuth

The Dodge County Master Gardeners Association held their 4th Annual Garden Photography Contest on Sat-urday, October 12, 2013. Contest judges Dave Edwards, Wayne Brabender, and Eileen Herrling evaluated and scored 90 photos that were entered in seven different categories.

Fruit Veggie, and Produce Category First Place: Carol Shirk, Mayville, WI Second Place: Carol Shirk, Mayville, WI Third Place: Darlene Lodahl, Mayville, WI Fourth Place: Carol Shirk, Mayville, WI Fifth Place: Stacey Lucht, Watertown, WI Critters and Creatures Category First Place: Vikki Fischer-Kurth, Beaver Dam, WI Second Place: Vikki Fischer-Kurth, Beaver Dam, WI Third Place: Margaret Furdek, Beaver Dam, WI Fourth Place: Stacey Lucht, Watertown, WI Fifth Place: Paula Storck, Mayville, WI Flowers and Foliage Category First Place: Gae Bergmann, Fox Lake, WI Second Place: Gae Bergmann, Fox Lake, WI Third Place: Stacey Lucht, Watertown, WI; Fourth Place: Margaret Furdek, Beaver Dam, WI Fifth Place: Gae Bergmann, Fox Lake, WI

Gardens and Landscapes Category First Place: Rachel Westover, Beaver Dam, WI Second Place: Gae Bergmann, Fox Lake, WI Third Place: Joan Raether, Beaver Dam, WI Fourth Place: Rachel Westover, Beaver Dam, WI Fifth Place: Rachel Westover, Beaver Dam, WI Garden Accents and Oddities Category First Place: Stacey Lucht, Watertown, WI Second Place: Rachel Westover, Beaver Dam, WI Third Place: Margaret Furdek, Beaver Dam, WI Fourth Place: Vikki Fischer-Kurth, Beaver Dam, WI Fifth Place: Terri Main, Waupun, WI Youth Category First Place: Andy Boschert, Beaver Dam, WI Second Place: Andy Boschert, Beaver Dam, WI Third Place: Kyle Main, Juneau, WI Digitally Enhanced Category Honorable Mention: Terri Main, Waupun, WI

Photo Contest Winners

Each year the Master Gardeners award a special ribbon and $50 cash prize to the Best of Show Winner. Vikki Fischer-Kurth received this year’s honors for her first-place entry in the Critters and Creatures category

Page 7 Digging in Dodge Issue 35

With fall upon us, it is time to begin

thinking about making leaf mold.

The process, although long, is

easy, and the benefits are many.

Leaf mold is a brownish-black resi-

due left after weather, water, and

time have worked to break down the organic structure

of a leaf. As leaves go through the natural rotting

process they become soft, crumbly and unrecogniz-

able. It is nothing more than composted leaves.

Leaf mold has to be home grown. Commercial com-

posts are available, but genuine leaf mold is not. In-

stead of raking fallen leaves to the curb for the city to

pick up, shred them with your lawnmower and place

them in lawn & leaf bags. Sprinkle them well with wa-

ter; moisture is essential. Tie the bags closed and

poke some air holes into them with a garden fork.

One or two bags won’t go very far once the material is

decomposed, so fill many. Because trash bags don’t

make beautiful lawn ornaments, find an inconspicu-

ous place to store them. From here, nature takes

over.

Let them sit through the winter. Come spring, open

the bag and inspect. Chances are the process won't

be entirely complete. But, you’ll definitely find some

leaf mold. If you need to add more moisture, this is

the time to do it. Tie the bags back up and leave

them until fall.

Don’t like the idea of placing trash bags in your yard

for an extended period of time? You can also create

leaf mold by piling fallen leaves into a bin or wire en-

closure...just like compost. Wet the pile thoroughly,

cover your bin and, again, let nature take it course.

After 6–12 months, the bottom of the pile will be ready

to use. Remember, the smaller the leaf particles the

quicker the decomposition process.

Leaf mold doesn't add many nutrients to soil, but its

water retention capabilities are incredible. Work it

into the top 6–12 inches of soil. It acts much like a

sponge, absorbing moisture and air and releasing

them slowly for plants to enjoy. Leaf mold increases

soil's water retention capability by about 50% and

stimulates biological activity in the soil.

Leaf mold can also be attractive mulch and is essen-

tially weed-free. (However, if you make your mold in

a bin or wire enclosure, avoid harvesting the finished

product from the edges of your pile. Weed seeds

may find their way into the opening. ) Used as mulch,

it will prevent extreme fluctuations in soil temperature

and keep the soil surface loose so water can pene-

trate and reach plant roots. Because it is so moisture

retentive, however, be sure to keep it several inches

away from the crown or base of your plants.

Gail Nampel, Certified Master Gardener

Leaf Mold…a Gardener’s Gold

10 Safe Raking Tips The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) has these tips for injury free raking:

1. Avoid twisting your body while raking. Use your legs to shift your weight rather than twisting your back.

2. Use a properly-sized rake for your height and strength.

3. Wear gloves to help prevent blisters on the hands.

4. Bend at the knees, rather than the waist, to pick up items.

5. Do some form of light exercise for ten minutes to warm up the muscles prior to raking.

6. Try to vary your movements as much as you can to avoid overuse of muscle groups.

7. Wear shoes with skid-resistant soles to minimize the risk of falling.

8. Don't overdo. Take frequent breaks or slow your pace if you are an infrequent exerciser.

9. As with any form of exercise, be sure to drink plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration.

10. When you're done, gentle muscle stretching can help relieve tension in the muscles.

Board of Directors

Crops and Soils Agent

UW-Extension Office

(920) 386-3790

Carol Shirk

President

(920) 387-5105

Chuck Meyer

Vice President

(920) 326-2219

Helen Weisensel

Secretary

(920) 885-5220

Terry Zimmerlee

Treasurer

(920) 885-2137

Berwyn Westra

Local Record Keeper

(920) 326-3885

Al Krause

Local Representative to

the WIMGA

(920) 261-7939

Dodge County Master Gardener Association

UW-Extension, Administration

Building 127 E. Oak Street,

Juneau, WI 53039

Phone: (920) 386-3790